We've signed some mince. Let's not kid on. Silva was unecessary, Borini (while I don't hate him as you all do) was far from a worthy signing, Hakan has been cr*p so far, I have no clue why we got Kalinic and Musacchio and Bonucci are yet to convince (NOT CALLING THEM BOTH MINCE BTW) - but overall it has been a good window. I like Conti, Rodriguez, Biglia, Kessie and I almost see Cutrone as a new signing.

But we're not signing anyone today.

I do wish our manager would make up his mind on it.

There is no other choice but this. I'm more than sure that if we dont sign a more than decent winger we will go for 3-5-2. Montella cant affort to switch formations whenver a winger misses a game and he knows this. I guess it will be a 3-4-2-1 with:


2nd team:

Hah. Exactly. It's just such a shock to have competent people in charge of the market - and to also have them communicate things clearly to the fans. They're making a real effort to do that and it's appreciated.


Part of me would love a big last minute signing. But I am an old fish and remember fondly the delirium when Milan announced Nesta on August 31, way back when.

I'd give the market an 8 as well -- and a 10 for hiring Fassone and Mirabelli, who have worked miracles.

I think Paletta is actually better than either Zapata or Gomes, it's just that he's a red card waiting to happen.


A lot of big clubs were interested

The problem is that no big club wanted to be Bayern's feeder team, meaning, no one wanted to take him on a dry loan just so they can grow him for Bayern. Every big club wanted an option and Bayern didn't want to give it


I don't think we'll sign anyone else.

Also, I think the trouble we had with selling players stemmed from 2 factors, the management not wanting to budge too much from their valuations of the players and the players themselves not wanting to leave.

We got 20m from Niang FFS! That's a miracle if you ask me.


For me, the transfer window has ended on a bit of a downer. I still think we needed 2 more players. I think our attack is very thin, and if Montella will insist on a 4-3-3 we're f@cked imo. Going into a season with Borini as a starter and Suso as your only out and out winger is ridiculous considering all the money we spent.

I'd really like us to switch to a 2 striker system. Especially since we have 3 good ones, and abolish this front 3 business considering it means 2 of the strikers sit out and Borini starts on the wing.

Now the onus is on Montella, if he continues to insist on this and the results don't come, everyone will start breathing down his neck and he won't last long

Wow. Grumpy Han.

Are you being the naughty penguin today like Timmy, han?

(IMG:http://www.funnysigns.net/files/naughty-penquin-of-the-month.jpg)

Hmh, I'll wait for the transfer window to close, but my assessment of our signing campaign isn't that positive as people tend to be here. Why?

Positive sides would be that we finally stepped up and signed big and important players. We also made early signings which secured us peace but due to Montella's inflexibility and our injury situation we nevertheless manged to start the season without a clear sense of formation and first XI selection.

One very good thing is that we played hardball negotiations and managed to make good money out of Niang, Kucka, etc., whereas the departure of Bacca still makes me think we could have made a better deal.

But all in all, an I somehow mark that almost no one is willing to admit this, our signing campaign was very erratic and not so carefully planned as proposed. The best signings were made for defense, a department we were already solid but not good enough. We will see if we overpaid for Conti to be honest, but well, he's promising enough. We must also mind that the signing of Bonucci was a gift from heaven (or Allegri), because the rift between Max and Leo became evident while the player wanted to stay in Italy. This made Milan (the new and ambitious Milan) the only logical move, hence there was no competition to beat off.

Our signings in midfield and attack are sometimes baffling. We signed no winger (Borini is just a filler player), yet the coach started the season with a 3 man attack i.e. wingers. Suso, who is arguably one of our best players, gives his best on the wing, yet we sold/returned all of Delo, Ocampos and Niang and managed to miss out on all targets in this sector. What we got instead is a very expansive talent in Silva who's seemingly not a favorite of Montella or at least he finds it hard to fit him in our current gameplan. The big names - Ibrahimović, Aubameyang, Belotti, Morata - mentioned and clearly wanted by Milan signed either for competing clubs or stayed put.

Even more perplexing is the situation in midfield. We sold a few rotation/bench players, but we still IMO stayed short on two important departments: creativity and classic destruction. If Kessie can do the latter remains to be seen, but I'm confident he can up his game and gradually grow. Yet we still lack the classic energetic destroyer alla Gattuso. Also, Çalhanoğlu seems to be the sole solution for the role of trequartista. Yet he is the most suspicious signing of all: a player who barely could satisfy the needs of Bayer Leverkusen, who came out of a multiple months ban and was know for lack of effort IMO isn't quite enough. The only convincing signing apart from Kessie is Lucas Biglia. But other then that our creativity problems remain almost intact.

Name-wise the signing campaign is a big and important step forward. But I'm not so in love with Fassone and Mirabelli yet, because some serious rumors and the signings we made make see a lack of planning and cooperation with Montella. It was made haphazardly, partly to establish good relations with new agents, partly out of unexpected opportunities that rose from nowhere and only partly to satisfy our needs.

But that's just how I see it.

(IMG:https://media2.popsugar-assets.com/files/2013/11/07/831/n/1922398/1192b3483abb1fb8_41.gif)



I think they got him on loan with right to purchase.



This 4-3-3 business won't last much longer, trust me. We'll switch to a 3-man defense eventually,

Nup. It was a prestito secco. (straight loan). Zero purchase option.



espn link

Don't necessarily disagree with anything you've written here, but I'm not sure that it's a big cause for concern at this point.

Yes, the market has been a little erratic - some things like Bonucci just dropped in the club's lap - and there were politics at play, but for the first time in a very long while, the guys negotiating for Milan are actually good negotiators who can strike a deal.

The professionalism with which the management has conducted business has really impressed me. I'm willing to give them leeway to get used to the setup and get things organized. If it's still a mess in 2019? I'll be an angry fish.

@Fillipo

I think you're being too pessimistic. To be honest, I don't see many of the problems you pose.

Firstly, our defense was not solid, it was utter shite. And we made some great, great improvements. Both Conti and Rodriguez thus far have shown that they're the real deal. Musacchio has been a pleasant surprise, and the addition of Bonucci brought a much needed leader and top player to the team. Not to mention Donnarumma's contract renewal. When we start playing 3-5-2, a defensive trio of Musacchio-Bonucci-Romagnoli with Conti and Rodriguez on the wings is top club material.

In attack we didn't sign a winger because I'm certain that with Bonucci's signings the club's plans shifted altogether, and the possibility of playing 3-5-2 became the priority. I agree that the lack of a marquee signing like Belotti or Aubameyang was disappointing for all, but still Silva and Cutrone are great talents and Kalinic is a decent enough back-up. Not to mention Suso, one of our best players.

In midfield we lack depth, but the starting material players (Kessie, Biglia, Bovanentura and Calhanoglu) are a huge re-assurance compared to who we had before. I understand your reservation towards Hakan, you know him better than us, but I still have high hopes for him. Plus we can still field a very good midfield with Kessie, Biglia and Jack even without Hakan. And they're all creative as well as hard-working players.

Overall, I think we have a very capable team for making the CL next season and winning the EL this one. If we obtain CL football next season (which I'm sure of) then you can only be certain that we'll keep improving this team with more important players.

I stand corrected.

I wasn't even going there mate (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Totally agreed there, X-Off!